Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address on the occasion of the launch of “Main Nahin Hum” Portal & App, and interaction with IT professionals on Self4Society
All my colleagues in the council of ministers; all the experienced dignitaries who provide momentum to India’s industrial life; who provide strength to IT profession; and our young generation associated with the field of IT; students of our school and colleges present in the CSC centers of our villages who have been living with a lot of dreams; students of IIT and several other institutions; it’s a matter of happiness for me that today I got the opportunity to come amongst you which is the most favorite thing for me.
Our minister Sri Ravishankar Ji was giving the details of the work done by the government, however, I have come not amongst you for this purpose. Any person who attains any success in his career, no matter how much money or prestige he may earn and even if he was able to realise all his dreams in his lifetime through his own efforts even then he craves for some kind of satisfaction. How can he get that satisfaction? And we have experienced this thing that even if he has accomplished everything but thereafter if he does something for someone else, if he tries to live for others then his satisfaction level goes up considerably.
I was listening to ShrimanAzimPremJi in the film at the start. When I was chief minister of Gujarat in 2003-04 then he used to visit me and used to talk about his business and some other work related to the government. However, I have seen that in the last 10-15 years thereafter whenever I got the opportunity to meet him he never talked about his work, his company or his corporate work. If he talks about anything then it is the mission that he is working on these days, it is about education and he is working on it with so much involvement that he did not use to work for his company with this kind of involvement.
So I feel that in this age, the person who established such a large company, who had such a successful journey but he is getting satisfaction from the work he is doing now.
It does not mean that a person does not serve anyone in his life in the profession he may be, suppose if someone is a doctor that does not mean that he doesnot serve. He does serve! If someone is a scientist and he spends his lifetime in a laboratory and he discovers something that is going to change the life of people generation after generation then it does not mean that he was not working for the society. It does not mean that he was living or working for himself or for his name. It is not like that.
He was working for others, but if he does something in front of his eyes, in his presence then he gets a different kind of satisfaction. And today, that satisfaction, that basic feeling of satisfaction is different for every human being. You can experience it yourself, you can judge it from your own life, SwantahSukhay , some people say that they get satisfaction, inner happiness and energy.
We have been listening about this thing in Ramayan that a squirrel got associated with Lord Ram in the work for construction of Ram Setu . That a squirrel considered it a novel work to be associated with it after being inspired. However, there can be another perspective, that even if Lord Ram were to succeed, even if he was God, he too needed a squirrel and when a squirrel joined him then he succeeded.
No matter, the government may take any number of initiatives, no matter how much money it may spend but unless there is people’s participation in it, we cannot get the result that we want. And India cannot wait.
And now the world also does not want to see an India waiting for something. Even the world is expecting India to lead; the world has this expectation from India. And if this is the expectation of the world then we will have to develop our country in that manner. And if we want to do that then how can we bring about change in the life of the common man of India. Can I utilise my skills, capabilities, power and experience for others, can I make use of it for someone else?
One thing is for certain that there are a place like this that if a poor person, if a hungry person visits them for food then it is offered to him. The people who are there to serve they serve in a very dedicated manner. And the person who goes there in expectation of food, then there comes a situation that he also feels that there is an institutional arrangement and if he goes there then he will get something to eat. Even the person who visits these places he does not have any special attention that who are the providers. Even the people who provide for they are not conscious about the seekers, they are not concerned who comes and why? Why it is so? Because they have formed a habit that if someone comes then they offer food and the person leaves thereafter.
However, if a poor person, who is hungry, if he goes to the doors of another poor family and if that poor family shares half of its meal then both of them remember thing for the rest of their lives. They derive satisfaction from it.
All of us have seen these things that what a big change is being brought about by those things that are done because of self-inspiration rather than those things that happen due to some system. If we are traveling in an airplane and some old person who is sitting next to us, if he wants to drink water and he has a bottle but he is finding it difficult to open it. If we notice it then we immediately open it. It givessatisfaction to us. It means that living life for others gives a unique pleasure.
I have tried to develop a tradition after becoming the Prime Minister, I used to do it even when I was the chief minister that if I go to convocation of any university then I request the organizers that if there is a government school near the university where poor children from nearby slums are getting educated in class 8th, 9th or 10th then they will be my special guests, and I ask them to provide space and offer them seats in the convocation program. I ask them to invite those children in the convocation and these children do come.
I feel that these children have been studying in their schools, even if it was in dilapidated condition. However, when they come to the convocation then they see that someone is coming to the dais by wearing a huge robe, that he has donned a cap and everyone is giving a certificate to him so they also have a dream. A seed is planted that one day he will also be there and hetoo will also receive that.
Perhaps it is much more than what he receives in the classroom. I mean to say that there are several things because of them we can do this thing. Our Anand Ji is sitting here, and since the time of my tenure as a chief minister to till date I have marked one thing about him that whenever I went to see him for development of Gujarat or for some investment, whenever I used to organizea meeting of industrialists then this gentleman never asked any question or talked about that.
He always used to ask: sir, what can be done about the social work. See, this temperament which he has, this temperament is a big strength for the country and society.
And, in the end, why I am happy and content after joining this program? I am a person connected with the social media so that I am not a victim ofthe information that is being given to me. I search and get the information myself that I was looking for and because of that I come across to new things.
And today this new platform of technology provides me that facility. And I have seen this thing that several children, several youth are doing so much work. They will form a group of three-four people, they will visit villages on Saturdays and Sundays. They will go to villages, they will stay in their colonies, they will stay among the people and sometimes they will teach children. They keep doing this kind of things.
It means that in the current generation of India, the people in the age group of 25 to 40, this tendency is developing in them naturally, it can be seen. However, if it becomes collective then it emerges as a power and if we connect it with some mission then we don’t require structure of the system, we just need to connect it with a mission, it needs a platform, a flexible one.
Everyone works as per his wishes, but whatever he or she does, if it is compiled somewhere, if the results are compiled then change also becomes visible.
And this thing is certain: India’s destiny lies in technology. The technology that you people have it has India’s destiny with it.
How can we work by combining these two things? If there is a gardener, if he scatters the seeds under the sky like this only, if the weather is right then a plant will take roots and it will also grow flowers. However, no one would be inclined to see it by visiting the place.
However, if the same gardener plants those flowers in a very organized manner that flowers of this color, this size, so much height will be planted here, if it is planted here and if that is planted there then it will look like this, if he does that then the same garden can become a source of inspiration for everyone to visit it.
What is the reason! He has done his job; he did this work in an organised manner, in a systematic manner. Our power to serve, which is scattered, and I see this thing that these days a new era of social start ups has stared. And those youth when they meet then they ask each other: what do you do? Then the other one says that he has done enough. I have seen that there was a young guy in Bangalore, he was in IT sector, I had seen it somewhere in social media that he drives, he said he drives for three-four hours in a day. When he was asked the reason then he said that he transports poor people. He said: I do some work, I help them, I take them to hospitals and I feel good.
I have seen this kind of auto rickshaw drivers that have this thing written on the back of their vehicles: ‘if you need to go to a hospital then I will take you there free of cost.’ The poor auto rickshaw driver of my country! Suppose if he comes across to six people in a day that were to be taken to hospitals then his kids will starve. But he is least concerned. He puts up a board and does this thing with honesty.
So this is the fundamental nature of humans that they need to do something for somebody and this is the feeling of ‘not me but us’ .
It does not mean that we must shunourselves; we just need to expand that ‘I’. We need to travel from ‘I’ to ‘All’. Why a person expands his family? Why does he feel happy in the midst of a larger family? This extended family of the society, of the entire country is bigger than our extended family and it becomes strength in itself.
Today, this is a journey from IT to Society with the same feeling. While on the one hand it is the journey of IT to Society and on the other it is also from IIT to Society. So we have to move forward with this feeling. And I would like to start discussion as I need to talk to the people at seven-eight tables.
There is a general perception in our country to abuse rich people; to say foul things about industrialists and traders has become a fashion. I don’t know why it is so? I’m surprised with this thing. And I am completely opposed to it. Everybody contributes in the nation building. If you look at this thing today then you will come to know that all these companies have told their brilliant staff that if they want to do some service for five days through their CSR that they can and do that their job will continue. These are not small things. They have a huge contribution in the ordinary life.
However, today when it has been brought to a single platform then it will be an eye opener for everyone. Is it so! People in every nook and corner of country are doing this kind of good work! This power of working together is an extremely big power. And I feel that this thing which is the basis for the inspiration – We – even in this thing, our angle of self and service will play and extremely important role. And you people are the people of communication world, people of the world of technology and if you people can very easily create all these things then it can certainly have a big impact and a massive reach.
And you people are connected to those things which are low cost. So the more we do them, the more we will become the source of inspiration. And these efforts made by us will become the basis of source of inspiration for maximum number of people. And one flower, so many flowers collected from different places, however, once they have been organised in a bouquet then it gives a unique pleasure.
I believe that the work of preparing a bouquet of these tendencies for serving people has been done today. Today, here at this place, through this effort, with this kind of devotion to duty, people those who dedicate themselves, and the people those who work in new and newer areas and this thing is being done by our young generation, Mother India will be proud that this kind of flowers have blossomed inside our country who continue to spread the fragrance, who continue to do the job of changing the lives of others.
I congratulate to all those youngsters who have done this job with total commitment and with complete dedication.
I congratulate all those companies that have used their resources and their talent for fulfilling the social responsibilities in addition to their own economic development.
In our country, people’s participation is a must for the development of the country. If 1.25 billion will decide to march ahead then there is no power in the world that can keep India backward. India must develop and it must develop in the right direction and it has to develop with the help of power of 1.25 billion Indians.
The results cannot be achieved if everyone is moving in its own direction. Results will be there only when all the people together move in one direction. And I am a very optimistic person, and I can tell with my little experience of four years that why India remained backward so far. This is a question for me. I don’t have this question in my mind that whether the country will progress or not? I am confident that the country will progress a lot. Our country will be able to carve out a place for itself in the world by overcoming all the challenges. With this belief, I thank you all for planning this programme. All of you have turned up here in such a large numbers, and I got the opportunity to hear you and talk to you after such a long time.
Thank you very much!
Thank you!